Downloaded from RARBG
THIS IS A TRUE STORY
MAURITANIA NOVEMBER, 2001 - TWO MONTHS AFTER 9/11
You're looking good. Germany suits you.
I should have come back to visit sooner.
How much is gas over there?
I don't know, I ride the Metro.
Can you help with my nephew's visa?
He's a little Einstein, like you.
- Of course! Bring him tomorrow. - Thank you.
Mama, go inside.
Is this about the new satellite dish?
No. It's nothing.
How many times can I say the same thing?
I have no idea where my cousin Mahfouz is.
I doubt Bin Laden even knows.
Listen. After these New York attacks,
the Americans are going crazy.
They want to talk to you.
You understand?
Allow me to change.
They'll confuse me for a Gulf prince.
Hurry up, follow him!
You'll ride with me.
I'd rather go in my own car.
Then give me your phone.
Okay.
What do I tell everyone?
Tell them it's work.
Mamma?
They wouldn't let me drive
if I wasn't coming back.
Don't worry, mother.
Save me some tajine.
THE MAURITANIAN
ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO FEBRUARY, 2005
NAVAL LAW CONFERENCE NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA
FEDERAL SECURE FACILITY CRYSTAL CITY, VIRGINIA
GUANTÁNAMO BAY, CUBA AUGUST 5, 2002
May God accept your prayers.
Aren't you going to pray?
What good were your prayers
if they led you here?
Believe me, it's useless.
That's where you're wrong.
I always prayed to see the world.
You need to be careful who you talk to.
Why? Are you a guard?
You'll never know.
What's your name?
I don't have a name here.
The guards listen to everything.
Call me by my number 241.
I'm not calling you by a number.
- Where are you from? - France. Marseille.
Nice to meet you, Marseille.
And you, my brother.
How is Marseille?
I hear it's beautiful.
Then you've never been.
Marseille is a real shithole.
Or so I thought, until I came here.
What do I call you?
I'm from Mauritania.
Okay.
The Mauritanian.
What does it mean, "shithole"?
If you don't know English,
how will you understand the guards?
By the time I learn, I'll be home already.
Maybe.
Or maybe you'll need to pray a lot harder.
PRIVILEGE TEAM OFFICES OFFICE FOR CLEARING SENSITIVE MATERIAL
Brother, I've seen many US interrogations.
The only way to help yourself is to talk.
If they want to know about a guy,
tell them about him.
Don't tell me what to do!
I'm older than you.
I'm not a liar!
And you're not my brother.
Yeah.
I've heard your number called. How was it?
They say I'm innocent.
I'm going home tomorrow.
Oh yeah?
Look up.
How did you get this?
My interrogator.
I gave her a name.
- You shouldn't do that. - Yeah, I know.
They'll make someone else suffer like us.
I told them...
Omar Sharif.
- No? - Yes, yes, it's true.
The Americans don't know shit.
Kick the ball over here.
- Did you hear me? - Yes, fine.
Mohamedou! Mum says, come home now.
MAURITANIA 1988
A letter came from your school.
You won the scholarship to Germany.
What's wrong?
Praise be to God.
They say you are an exceptional student.
But we will lose you.
I won't go if you don't want me to.
What? Are you crazy?
Will you waste this opportunity?
You must go.
You are our hope.
October 6, 2005 - Government complies with Freedom of Information request
Marseille? Is that you?
Yeah.
Learn English from your books,
not the guards.
Okay.
Is something wrong?
I received a letter from my wife.
That's good.
No?
It's a letter. It's not my wife.
You have a family? Children?
DUISBURG, GERMANY 1990
Völler!
Always there when you need him.
The doctor told me this would help.
Do you want a boy or a girl?
You know the Soviets
kidnap women in helicopters now?
They take them to their bases
to rape them.
We should be doing something.
The mosque is collecting donations.
Money!
Volunteers are giving their lives!
So we should just give up our life here?
What life?
A new car, a bigger house, kids?
Shouldn't life be about more than that?
Hey Marseille, you've lost your ball again.
It's yours, keep it. I don't need it.
They're letting you go?
None of us are ever getting out.
They can't keep us here forever.
Don't let them take your faith.
One day you will be home, brother.
- Marseille is on the ocean? - Yes.
Nouakchott also.
When I am home, I will lie in bed,
listening to the waves.
Can you hear them?
The sea always sounds the same.
Close your eyes.
Listen.
Dream of home.
Don't give up.
It's over.
Don't give up!
O God, forgive our living,
and our dead,
those who are present among us,
and those who are absent,
our young,
and our old,
our males,
and our females.
O God, whoever You keep alive,
keep them alive in Islam,
and whoever You cause to die,
cause them to die with faith.
God is greater.
Peace be with you.
US DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA - April, 2008
Time to wake up.
Mohamedou?
Are you Ramzi?
The kitchen is here,
the bathroom on the left.
Forgive me,
I have to work early in the morning.
Make yourself at home.
Who are they?
Actually we talked until very late.
All night.
Mohamedou was very passionate.
He recruited me to Al Qaeda.
Without him...
no way 9/11 would have ever happened.
Are you real?
I'm so happy to see you.
SEPTEMBER 8, 2003
God, help me! Have mercy on me.
Save me from the wolves
that surround me,
O Most Gracious!
DECEMBER 14, 2009
MARCH 22, 2010
Although he won his Habeas petition, the Obama administration appealed
and Mohamedou remained in custody for a further 7 years.
He never saw his mother again. She died in 2013.
Nancy and Teri continued to visit Mohamedou on alternate months,
working with the ACLU to fight for his release.
After years of legal wrangling, in 2015 Mohamedou
published his letters under the title "Guantanamo Diary".
Although heavily redacted by the government, the book became a bestseller
and brought public attention to his case.
He was finally released on October 17, 2016,
having spent 14 years and two months in prison.
He was never charged with a crime.
Mohamedou Ould Slahi is living back in Mauritania.
In 2018, he married Kitty, an American lawyer.
They have a son, Ahmed.
Due to ongoing visa issues, the family have not been able to live together.
They hope that a country will step forward to offer them protection and citizenship.
Nancy Hollander continues to work as a defense lawyer.
Her clients include one of the 40 men still held in Guantanamo,
and whistle-blower Chelsea Manning.
Stuart Couch retired from the Marine Corps and now works
as an immigration judge for the Department of Justice.
Theresa 'Teri' Duncan continues to practice criminal law,
specializing in death penalty cases.
Neither the CIA, the Department of Defense, nor any other US government agency has
admitted responsibility, or offered any apology for abuse that occurred at Guantanamo.
Of the 779 prisoners who have been held at Guantanamo,
eight have been convicted of a crime.
Three of these convictions have been overturned on appeal.
Subtitles: Frank Sahlberger
FFS-Subtitling GmbH